5 Sneaky Uber Hacks That Will Save You Serious Cash

Be still your cab-loving heart

Sure, Uber is our lifeline…except when we see that surge pricing start to spike. D’oh! Good thing there are quite a few tricks for minimizing steep Uber costs. Here, five of the most important ones to know.

CHANGE YOUR LOCATION

Sure, the whole point of hailing an Uber is convenience, but a lot of times, if you walk just a few blocks or streets over, you can nab a cheaper deal. Here’s why: Certain neighborhoods are known for their high demand (hence surge pricing). So, instead of requesting an Uber when you’re standing on the street with the trendiest restaurants/bars/shops in town, stroll a few blocks over, then see where the pricing stands.

SPLIT THE FARE

If you and your friend are sharing the cost of an Uber home, don’t just pass her a $20 to cover your half and call it a day. Uber’s “Fare Split” function makes it a breeze to divvy up the tab. The option appears the moment the person who requested the Uber begins the ride. As long as your friend has the app, all you have to do is plug in your friend’s phone number to invite her to split the bill. (FYI, it will cost you an extra 25 cents per person to use this service, but that’s a lot cheaper than scrounging for cash or overpaying when you don’t have smaller bills.)

SET UP A SECOND UBER ACCOUNT

This trick is a little sneaky, but works if you have both a personal and a work email account. Simply set up a secondary membership with Uber and you’ll be able to unlock promo codes and deals (like $20 off) that only exist for new users. Score.

REQUEST A FANCIER RIDE HOME

It’s counterintuitive, but when surge pricing is at its peak, taking an Uber XL could actually cost you less than if you requested an Uber X. Toggle the button at the bottom of the screen to peep all your fare options before making a decision. It might trim only $6 to $10 off the cost, but still, money = saved.

WORST CASE SCENARIO, TAP THE “SURGE DROP” OPTION

If prices really are spiking high, Uber has a system in place to give you a heads up via a pop-up. At the bottom of the notification, you’ll see an option: Notify Me If Surge Ends. If you have time to wait it out, tap this and Uber will send you an alert in the next 30 minutes, right when the pricing goes down.